


I Won't Watch You Burn

by Angelic_Hellraiser



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Canon Compliant, Episode IX Teaser, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Kylo Ren Needs a Hug, Kylo Ren Redemption, Redeemed Ben Solo, Rey Needs A Hug, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Trailer, let them be happy, soft babies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-18
Updated: 2019-04-18
Packaged: 2020-01-15 23:47:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18509572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Angelic_Hellraiser/pseuds/Angelic_Hellraiser
Summary: He utters an apology near her ear, his voice barely audible. It doesn’t matter. She pulls back to look at him, wanting to look into his velvet dark eyes, so like his mother’s, but he doesn’t give her a chance. The soft touch of his lips short circuits her mind and her toes curl at the pleasant sensation. They are warm, if a little cracked, and the desperate swipe of his tongue makes a foreign heat pool in her stomach. He does it again, as if wanting to commit her taste to memory and she indulges him, wrapping her arms possessively around his neck while he cradles her face with his free hand.





	I Won't Watch You Burn

**Author's Note:**

> **A/N:** So everyone is speculating what the trailer actually represents for Reylo and I'm for all the theories at this point. This one-shot is simply based on what I'd like to see. Also, this title is inspired by Jorah's statement to Dany in season 1 of GoT, because I ADORE him! This piece was originally posted with my other Reylo one-shots, here, but it was recommended to me that I post it separately so it's easier to find. ^_^ On a side note, you can find me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/cthulupriestess) for updates on my other Reylo projects.
> 
>  *** * Moodboard created by[Beautiful_and_Broken (Dazzy)](https://twitter.com/DazzledbyJake)** 💜

The hot desert air burns her lungs, the noon suns brilliant and unforgiving on her skin as she sprints across the sand with the scream of his ship nearly rending her skull in two. Within the Force his signature barrels straight for her like a wall of pain, a howling screeching thing that is more animal than man.

However, he doesn’t fire.

He can’t… no matter how much a vengeful part of him desires it.  

Finn’s signature thunders in the Force like a battle drum as he watches from a distant escarpment of rocks with Poe, his nails no doubt chewn down to the quick. She concentrates, keeping Ben’s attention on her, clouding his periphery with every memory they’ve ever shared. This will work. It has to work. She has faith. Of all the junctures in her life, each new crossroads more painful than the last, this one is the the one that matters most.

She pumps her legs harder, wind whistling through her dry lips like a storm and the grit coating her tongue as she opens herself completely within the Force. She flares out like a wild beacon and her lightsaber follows suit, brightening to a near blinding white as he closes in, a moth to the flame.

His ship cuts low to the ground, kicking up the desert sand like a razor. She can feel his eyes on her, centering on the seductive whip of her white silk tails as they dance behind her, calling him closer, closer…

_Closer Ben._

She takes one final deep breath, dragging as much into her lungs as she can and hones her focus down to a single line of action, legs tingling, body humming, head spinning—

—then she’s jumping, thrusting herself high into the air and somersaulting above his ship. Its wall of velocity shocks her, like a tangible thing of flesh and bone pushing her higher. Her lightsaber vibrates turbulently in her hands with the unadulterated energy of this moment and she grips it tighter, promising herself she won’t let go. She won’t let either of them go this time.

The ship speeds beneath her as her heart counts down. _3…_ His head jerks up, eyes following her. _2..._ Her name verbally leaves his lips in awe. _1!_ And she thrusts down, piercing the hull of his ship with all the power she can muster.   

Her blade hits the mark and the ship malfunctions. Time slows as he goes down, digging through the sand like a dagger and cutting a long ugly wound until the machine slinks to a stop a few hundred yards away. She tumbles through the ship’s wake and lands unsteadily on her knees, a bark of pain shooting up her spine.

The world stops completely and she waits, shielding her eyes from the brilliant light with a shaking hand. Nothing but smoke rises from the crash, a dead silence closing in around them. Her eyes travel fleetingly to Finn and Poe, finding their distant silhouettes moving hastily down the rocks. She rises to her feet, looking again to the downed ship. Still no movement.

Making up her mind she waves the boys off and they pause over the sand, eyeing her anxiously as she starts for the ship. Her heart rages in her chest at his silence, feeling his glare even from such a distance. She whispers through the Force, _Come out Ben._  

A sharp response follows, involuntary, brimming with so much emotion it rips her breath away. _Like uprooting a knife from the flesh_ , she thinks. Then, the glass of the ship’s viewport smashes outward and his hulking silhouette materializes as if a mirage, wavering black against gold. Her foot almost stops, hesitating ever-so-slightly at the sight of him, but she pushes forward, walking faster.

_This will work._

_It has to._  

He approaches her, a turbulent shadow on the desert with the harsh sun casting his ivory face in pure light. He hasn’t slept in weeks, the grime and blood dotting his cheeks like constellations of a foreign sky she herself knows. War. His stride slows as he closes in, his lightsaber yet to be ignited and his cape billowing in the wind.

She stops, waiting for him. At thirty paces between them he halts, his body falling deathly still. His hair toys in the breeze and Rey hears the Force siphoning around them, surrounding them in a vortex of pure energy.

She opens her mouth to speak, but no words come. At last she settles on his name instead. “Ben.”

“Don’t call me that!” his retort lashes out at her like a whip.

Rey scowls, ignoring his command. “Ben. Why did you come here?”

He doesn’t reply.

“I didn’t call you here to fight.” She licks her lips, gauging his reaction, finding only a tranquil mask of death. Continuing, she dares a step closer. “I refuse to continue this vicious cycle.”

“Then you should have taken my offer.” He says coldly.

She chuckles despite herself, tears balling in her throat. “And what was that offer exactly? Rule with you on a throne of ashes? Because that’s what would have been left! You want to kill the past, but you can’t kill what’s inside you, Ben! You would have tried! You’d have burned yourself to the ground and what would I have been left with?” They’re falling now, uninterrupted and hot down her cheeks.

“That’s not—”

“You’ve never lied to me before, Ben Solo. Best not start now.” she interjects icily.

The two of them circle one another, though she isn’t sure how moves first. Her or him? Maybe they both do.

“You don’t belong where you are.” he murmurs, his hand hovering over his lightsaber.

“Neither do you!” she shouts, advancing on him, forcing him to draw his weapon.

It snarls as he brings it to life and she raises her own, their glares entangled, but as she brings it over her head she switches tactics, suddenly slamming it into the ground and going down on one knee. The sand spits like an angry adder around it and he stops his blade just short of her neck. She looks up at him, the red dying her eyes a grisly maroon.

_Like the forest…_

_So long ago now._

“Are you going to kill me, Ben? Because I refuse to stand idly by and watch you destroy yourself.” Despite all the chaos of energy around them, her heartbeat slows. Resolute. “So either you kill me now, or you come with me.”

His mask falters, mouth falling open and saber quaking in an unsteady hand.

She deactivates hers and stands up. “I know what you want. I know your pain… and your regrets.”

He swallows, throat working vigorously.

She takes another step closer. “Being the Supreme Leader isn’t what you really wanted, was it? It was an excuse to start over. But your father is gone. You killed him, Ben.”

His chin jerks as if physically slapped.

Another step.

His lightsaber dips as if it might fall from his grasp, but then he thrusts it forward at her like an accusatory finger. “Why didn’t you just say _yes_?”

She smiles through her tears, sad, tired. “For the same reason you didn’t come with me.”

 _That_ gives him pause, his hardened eyes raking over her and his feet shuffling unconsciously forward. She allows herself a taste of the longing she feels around him, letting it sink into her flesh like the heat of the suns above them.

“Make your choice.” she whispers, hooking her lightsaber to her belt.

Finn and the others survey the scene with baited breath as Rey waits, her attention focused solely on Ben. Several emotions flit across his face: rage, hurt, regret, longing and finally… _determination_. Her eyes widen as he abruptly deactivates his saber and stalks toward her, capturing her in his arms and hoisting her up off the ground. He hugs her like a man lost at sea and she holds him, burying her face into his neck and hooking her fingers like claws into his surcoat.

He utters an apology near her ear, his voice barely audible. It doesn’t matter. She pulls back to look at him, wanting to stare into his velvet dark eyes, so like his mother’s, but he doesn’t give her a chance. The soft touch of his lips short circuits her brain and her toes curl at the unexpectedly pleasant sensation. They are warm, if a little cracked, and the desperate swipe of his tongue makes a foreign heat pool in her stomach. He does it again, as if wanting to commit her taste to memory and she indulges him, wrapping her arms possessively around his neck while he cradles her face with his free hand.

 _I’m sorry, too._ The words pour from her heart into him and he drinks them greedily. She tries to speak the words aloud, wanting Ben to _hear_ them, but he won’t let her go, deepening the kiss.

 _No._ He begs. _Just… for a moment._

She understands at once and drags him closer, letting her fingers skim over his own moist cheeks. _I won’t let you be alone._ She promises. _Ever again, Solo. You hear me?_

 

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**Author's Note:**

> **PLEASE REMEMBER TO LEAVE SOME FEEDBACK!  
> ** **CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM IS WELCOME! I HAD NO BETA FOR THIS, SO FEEL FREE TO YELL AT ME FOR TYPOS!**  
>    
> 


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